Rounding Cape Horn

The Crouched Lion at the Horn

If we were sailors 120 years ago we would be now waiting in line to be fitted with a gold "loop" earring piercing of our left ears. We have successfully Rounded the Horn.

Our ship did not need to travel south in the roughest seas in the world in order to get to Port Stanley on the Falklands Islands.  Our captain took us there because it “is a thing mariners do”.  In the days of commercial sailing, it was a tradition to get a gold loop earring to mark Rounding the Horn.  Left ear – west to east, Right ear – east to west.  We have decided to give the piercings a miss and take the Cape Horn Certificates proclaiming that we successfully navigated Cape Horn at a latitude 55 degrees, 58 minutes South and a longitude of 67 degrees 12 minutes West on the 27^th of November, 2018.

For many on board, Rounding the Horn was the sole reason for taking the cruise with the hope it was in the roughest conditions possible.  They were not disappointed.

Cape Horn is widely considered to be the most southerly point of South America.  For centuries it was the major route for sailing ships carrying trade goods around the world until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.  The Cape was considered the halfway point between England and Australia. 

The waters around the cape are hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong mixed currents and the ever-present possibility of icebergs.  There have been around 1000 known shipwrecks in these waters over the last 400 years with the loss of life numbering over 15000.

We set our alarm clocks for 6:30 am.  The Captain let us know the night before that he anticipated reaching the Horn around 7 am.  He said the weather would be rough much to the glee of several passengers.

True to his word, the captain came on the PA system just before seven and announced we were Rounding the Horn.  The winds were out of the southeast, directly from Antarctica and were gusting just above 110 km/hr.  That converts to 11 on the Beaufort scale, which translates to borderline “Violent Storm” to “Hurricane”.  He warned passengers to remain seated in their cabins while we changed our heading to port.  He anticipated that we were likely to severely list to the port side when the ship was hit broadside by the wind.  We didn’t experience a severe list in our cabin but you could feel the ship list and shudder as he made the turn.

Deborah braved the elements to get a few pictures before we made our hasty escape toward the Falkland Islands.  The weather soon changed to fair skies and calmer seas as we traversed 687 km to the Falklands (or Islas Malvinas if you are an Argentinean sympathizer).

We ended the day with one of the tour's three Gala Formal Evenings.  Everyone dresses in their best tour suits and enjoys a special meal in the dining room.  After dinner, we watched the "Legends of Rock" show on the main stage and later listened to music in one of the many bars on board.